If you don't mind upchucking all over your keyboard, the article is here.

It's very ... interesting that almost none of these concerns about "inexperience" were circulated by the "objective" and "nonpartisan" MSM regarding Obama.

The McCain campaign responded to this smear piece with the following statement:

"The authors quote four scholars attacking Gov. Palin's fitness for the office of Vice President. Among them, David Kennedy is a maxed out Obama donor, Joel Goldstein is also an Obama donor, and Doris Kearns Goodwin has donated exclusively to Democrats this cycle. Finally, Matthew Dallek is a former speech writer for Dick Gephardt. This is not a story about scholars questioning Governor Palin's credentials so much as partisan Democrats who would find a reason to disqualify or discount any nominee put forward by Senator McCain."

Monday, August 25, 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

This article should be made required-reading for both college English courses (as an example of poorly-written, cliché-riddled tripe) and college Political Science courses (as an example of inane, inside-the-Beltway conventional wisdom).

I’ll never understand why David Gergen is considered to be such a "respected" political analyst. I’ve seen more insightful political analysis at icanhascheezburger.com.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

War doesn't change anything! How many times have we heard the claim from self-righteous leftists protected by their betters?

[...]

War doesn't change anything? Wish it were true - but war has been humankind's preferred means of effecting change.

We're all - right and left - getting an in-your-face lesson about how the world really works. Passive resistance only has a chance when your opponent believes in the rule of law and respect for human rights. Gandhi was effective against law-abiding Britain, but he would've frozen to death in the Soviet gulag - if he'd lived long enough to reach the camps.

I'd love it if we lived in a world where war truly didn't work. But war does work. That doesn't mean we shouldn't pursue other means of resolving international crises - but effective idealism has to be grounded in a practical grasp of present reality.

To make the world a better place, we have to begin with a clear-eyed assessment of what kind of place the world is.

That's the main problem liberals have: They view the world as it should be, in a utopia, as opposed to how it really is, in reality.

July's NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll found that three in four Americans believe McCain can "handle" the role of commander in chief, while only 19 percent said he "cannot," compared to a 50 percent to 42 percent split for Obama.

When asked which party is more capable of "dealing with the war on terrorism," 40 percent of respondents to the latest NBC/WSJ poll said Republican while 29 percent said Democrat. The parties had been effectively tied as recently as January of this year, and the 11-percentage-point gap is the largest since 2004, the last year these numbers shifted so dramatically and, not coincidentally, the last presidential election year.

Well, duh. This election is basically war hero vs. empty suit. I would certainly hope that McCain has an advantage in this area.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

As David Freddoso reports in his new best-seller, "The Case Against Barack Obama," the Illinois senator goes further than any U.S. senator has dared go in defending what John Paul II called the "culture of death."

Thrice in the Illinois legislature, Obama helped block a bill that was designed solely to protect the life of infants already born, and outside the womb, who had miraculously survived the attempt to kill them during an abortion. Thrice, Obama voted to let doctors and nurses allow these tiny human beings die of neglect and be tossed out with the medical waste.

How can a man who purports to be a Christian justify this?

If, as its advocates contend, abortion has to remain legal to protect the life and health, mental and physical, of the mother, how is a mother's life or health in the least threatened by a baby no longer inside her -- but lying on a table or in a pan fighting for life and breath?

How is it essential for the life or health of a woman that her baby, who somehow survived the horrible ordeal of abortion, be left to die or put to death? Yet, that is what Obama voted for, thrice, in the Illinois Senate.

I am unsure how exactly Obama manages to sleep at night, with this horror on his conscience.

The Republicans became miffed last Friday when Democrats abruptly adjourned the House until September 8 without giving them a chance to speak on the floor about their energy plan, which includes exploring for oil in ANWR and more off-shore drilling.

Even though the House had officially gone out of session, some Republicans stayed on the floor and made speeches anyway.

After taking the weekend off, the guerrilla oratory continued Monday, with organizers of the talk-in estimating that 24 of the 199 House Republicans participated.

...

Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement on Monday saying, "This Republican hoax is unworthy of the serious debate we must have to reduce the price at the pump and promote energy independence."

House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., referred to GOP tactics as "stunts" by a "smattering of House Republicans".

But Republicans claim their unofficial floor sessions are gaining traction with voters who are wondering why Congress is taking a five week vacation while gasoline prices remain so high.

They vow to continue speaking out on the House floor rest of this week and during the weeks ahead.

It looks like the GOP is finally fighting back against the Stalinist tactics of Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats. It's about damn time.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances before the political conventions, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, "I think that's a great idea." In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

On Saturday, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones in the fall.

...

A day after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination in early June, McCain challenged Obama to a series of 10 town hall meetings with voters in the months leading up to the conventions. The candidates' campaigns began negotiations, telling reporters that they agreed in spirit to the joint appearances.

When the idea first came up from the McCain campaign that May, Obama was still battling Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Obama said then: "Obviously, we would have to think through the logistics on that, but ... if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain, that's something that I am going to welcome."

How are we supposed to trust a guy who's apparently too afraid to debate John McCain at town hall events to be strong in face-to-face negotiations with thugs like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong-il?

Friday, August 01, 2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Friday he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources.

Shifting from his previous opposition to expanded offshore drilling, the Illinois senator told a Florida newspaper he could get behind a compromise with Republicans and oil companies to prevent gridlock over energy.